Overheated computer blamed for Clearfield church fire

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Members of the Clearfield Community Church will hold Palm Sunday services at a nearby school auditorium after fire heavily damaged their house of worship earlier this week.

Pastor John Parsley said that Wasatch Elementary School, 210 E. Center St. in Clearfield, will be the congregation's home for the foreseeable future.

The Standard Examiner reported Friday that investigators and fire scene inspectors had concluded that an overheated computer monitor in a basement office caused the fire, with preliminary damage estimates ranging between $750,000 to $1 million.

Parsley said that the church at 200 South and 500 East does have insurance coverage, he confirmed, but he had no idea how long it could take to complete repairs and reopen the church.

"We will combine our usual two services into one, at 10 a.m. on Sundays, for the indefinite future," he said.

Flames gutted the church's western wing and damaged part of the main fellowship hall.

Parsley, who has pastored the American Baptist Churches-affiliated congregation for nearly five years, said he and his parishioners remain upbeat  and grateful no one was injured in the 1:30 p.m. Tuesday blaze that appeared to have begun in the basement.

"While the church building has been damaged, the church is still strong and will continue to be Christ's family," he wrote on the church's website.

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